In Kanefsky v. Ford Motor Co. Gen. Ret. Plan, No. 22-cv-2259, 10548 U.S. Dist. 2023 WL 186800 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 13, 2023), the court granted a motion to dismiss a pension plan participant’s claim that the plan was equitably estopped from recouping overpaid plan benefits.  Upon termination of his employment, the participant requested and received from the plan a disclosure estimating that his pension would be $6,225.24 per month.  Almost two years after the participant elected to begin collecting his pension at that disclosed amount, the plan informed him that his monthly benefit had been miscalculated, that he was only owed $3,797.46 per month, and that the plan would recoup $53,411.16 in overpaid benefits by reducing his future benefits.  The participant filed suit after his administrative appeal was denied, arguing that the plan should be equitably estopped from reducing his benefit because he relied on the plan’s benefit estimate when he decided to begin collecting his pension benefits.  The district court held that the participant failed to plausibly allege that the plan intended for him to detrimentally rely on the estimate, and that therefore, he could not establish at least one of the elements of an equitable estoppel claim.  The court distinguished Paul v. Detroit Edison Co. & Michigan Consol.  Gas Co.Pension Plan, 642 F. App’x 588 (6th Cir. 2016), in which the Sixth Circuit upheld an equitable estoppel claim because there, the plan actively invited participants to retire early by offering incentives beyond their ordinary pension benefits.  By contrast, the participant in Kanefsky was fully vested and had already ceased employment, and the plan did not reach out to him to encourage early retirement.  Under these circumstances, the court held that the plan had nothing to gain by misrepresenting his pension amount and that the participant had not presented any other allegations that could plausibly be construed as establishing that the plan intended for the participant to act based on the benefit estimate he requested.

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Photo of Neil V. Shah Neil V. Shah

Neil V. Shah is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group, where he focuses on ERISA litigation.

Neil represents plan sponsors, trustees, and other fiduciaries in ERISA class actions for…

Neil V. Shah is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group, where he focuses on ERISA litigation.

Neil represents plan sponsors, trustees, and other fiduciaries in ERISA class actions for breach of fiduciary duty arising out of investment losses and prohibited transactions, as well as Department of Labor and other governmental and internal investigations.  Neil also counsels both employers and multiemployer funds regarding the assessment and collection of delinquent contributions and withdrawal liability.

Prior to joining Proskauer, Neil was an associate at a large regional firm, where he litigated individual and class actions involving challenges to insurer claims adjudication procedures under ERISA, fraud recoveries against healthcare providers, and claims for benefits.

Neil has authored several articles, including those published in the New Jersey Law Journal and Bloomberg National Affairs. He is also a frequent contributor to Proskauer’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog.

Photo of Jesse T. Foley Jesse T. Foley

Jesse T. Foley is a labor associate and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group.

Jesse has a diverse practice advising multiemployer and single-employer clients on all aspects related to the legal compliance and tax qualification of ERISA-covered pension and…

Jesse T. Foley is a labor associate and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group.

Jesse has a diverse practice advising multiemployer and single-employer clients on all aspects related to the legal compliance and tax qualification of ERISA-covered pension and welfare plans, including the treatment of such plans in corporate financings and transactions.

In his multiemployer practice, he represents a number of funds, counseling Boards of Trustees on issues such as healthcare compliance, cybersecurity, government investigations, benefit suspensions, special financial assistance, and withdrawal liability.

In addition, Jesse advises private, public, and not-for-profit employers on all aspects of their non-qualified executive compensation arrangements.  Jesse regularly provides technical and practical advice on the establishment, administration, and continued legal compliance of deferred compensation and supplemental employee retirement plans.  As part of his practice, Jesse routinely negotiates and drafts equity plans and awards, employment agreements, severance agreements, and other compensation arrangements.

Jesse earned his J.D. degree from the University of Southern California, where he was a Senior Editor of the Southern California Law Review.  Jesse also frequently contributes to Proskauer’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Blog.